Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 138775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 138775 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 694(@200wpm)___ 555(@250wpm)___ 463(@300wpm)
“Start with the wide end on the right,” Kyle said.
“It is.”
“Oh. Guess it’s backwards. Put the wide end over the narrow end.”
School was in session, and the instructions went on as I watched through the mirror.
“No, bring the wide end up. The wide end.”
“I’m trying,” Lucas snapped. And he tried for a couple more minutes with Kyle giving instructions in what was—for him—a relatively patient voice.
And finally, it looked correct, at least from my vantage point.
Kyle seemed to agree. “I think that’s it. Just slide the knot up to tighten it.”
Lucas did so and then cautiously removed his hands, as if afraid the whole thing was going to fall off.
“Yeah, that looks right,” Kyle said.
Lucas examined himself in the mirror over the dresser and smoothed the tie down. “Thanks.”
“Welcome.” There was an awkward silence. “Is Tori’s mom really marrying that loser?”
“Afraid so.” Lucas sighed. “She’s pretty upset.” That much was true, but he’d found one hell of a way to distract me last night.
“Tell her…” Kyle hesitated. “Shit, I don’t know what to say. Think of something supportive and tell her I said it, okay?”
“Will do.”
Lucas ended the video call, and I eased the door shut as quietly as possible. The interaction between the two stepbrothers had been wildly entertaining, but also strangely heartwarming. And it touched me that Kyle clearly didn’t know what message to send to me—but wanted to do so anyway.
I thought it over while getting dressed. I loved seeing the two of them work together, like they had when they’d gotten my necklace back from Todd. Or even if they didn’t work together, it would be nice if they could just be civil.
Maybe once we got back, I could try to figure out some way to help them get there. Jayden might help, too. He wasn’t scarily smart like Lucas, but he was smart in his own way, and he was excellent at reading people.
Plus, we were overdue for a nice long chat in the hammock. It was always so damn peaceful lying against him as we talked quietly.
God, I’d just slept next to one man, and now I was thinking about lying next to another. And my date with Kyle was tomorrow evening. I hadn’t forgotten that, and I didn’t want to. My mind was in the gutter, but that served a purpose today. It helped keep me from agonizing over the wedding ceremony we’d soon attend.
Thinking about war and famine would be preferable to thinking about that, so it was a real treat to keep my mind on the three hottest men I knew.
And the intimate moments we’d shared recently.
But once we got to Macon, I knew I wouldn’t have any way to hide from the horrible truth about what my mom was committing to.
He got me through it. The ceremony was as awful as I’d anticipated, but Lucas stayed by my side the entire time. He somehow knew when I needed a hug. Or to hold his hand. And I swear, a few times, he slipped his arm around my waist right when I was thinking of bolting.
And he kept up the conversation, too, so that I wouldn’t have to. He asked my mother questions. He shook Doug’s hand and called him sir. Not because he respected Doug—but because he respected me.
He was my rock, and afterwards, I barely had time to tell him that before collapsing into exhaustion in the car. Emotional exhaustion, which was somehow worse than the physical kind.
I woke up from time to time on the trip north, and each time Lucas was there, driving steadily. Urging me to drink some water. Patting my leg.
I didn’t fully become alert until the elevation rose, and we switched to those winding, twisting roads leading up to Lucas’s house. Then I wiped my eyes and attempted to do something with my hair. It had fallen out of the updo while I slept.
Jayden’s car and Kyle’s truck were parked out front when we got back, and the sight made my spirit feel lighter. I wanted to see both of them so badly. Maybe because part of coming home was coming back to them?
Whatever it was, my eyes lit up when Jayden stepped onto the porch, and I threw myself into his arms. He held me close and ran his fingers through my hair.
“It feels like two years since I last saw you,” I said. I wanted to drag him out back and nestle together in the hammock. Last night had all been about Lucas, and tomorrow night was my date with Kyle. Right now, I craved some quality time with Jayden. He was the only one who had never made me worry about how he was going to react.
He was so laid-back, and easy going, and he made me laugh and feel good about myself. I ached to feel his body stretched out next to mine. What did it say about me that I wanted to do that just one day after sleeping next to Lucas? But right now I wasn’t going to chastise myself because I was too glad to see him.